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4 Top Tips to Maximize Online Giving

Jul 27, 2017

Online giving has grown substantially in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down. Here are some data-driven tips for maximizing your nonprofit’s online giving. Join me on August 3rd to learn even more practical tactics that you can immediately apply to double your online fundraising in just two months.

Turn Donors Into Fundraisers

When a person makes a contribution, instead of just saying thank you on the next page, make it as easy as clicking on a button to “Share on Facebook” or “Share on Twitter”. Simply by adding this feature on average you will double online donations, and you’ll do it by tapping into supporters you don’t already know. The average Facebook share is worth $8, so think of a share as powerful and free advertising!

Promote Recurring Giving

In the nonprofit world, it’s 11 times as expensive to obtain a new donor as it is to maintain an existing one. And while only 35% of one-time donors will give next year, 87% of monthly donors will. Your work doesn’t stop tomorrow, so why should their support? So when asking for online donations, lead with a recurring gift option. The bottom line is people are lazy and once they sign up, they’re likely yours for a while!

Google It

Would you like to increase your advertising budget by over $100,000 a year? Then check out google.com/grants, which provides free AdWords grants to nonprofits, enabling you to generate more traffic (and donations!) to your website. On average, for every 1,000 visitors you generate, you’ll bring in another $612, so this can add up quickly!

Resist Your Gut and Trust the Data

Finally, I strongly recommend you leverage your data and conduct a series of experiments to fully optimize your online donations. For example, rather than trusting your gut when evaluating your donation button, you can look at actual numbers to pick the one that garners the most clicks and donations. In the webinar, I’ll go into depth regarding a series of three experiments you can run to double your online fundraising within two months, as well as a range of other practical tips to maximize your online donations. I hope you’ll join me!

Maximize your online donations! If you want to learn more, join us for a webinar from Darian Rodriguez Heyman, “Maximizing Online Donations” on Thursday, August 3, from 2:00-3:00pm ET.

Darian Rodriguez Heyman is an accomplished fundraiser, social entrepreneur, and best-selling author. His work “helping people help” started during his five-year tenure as Executive Director of Craigslist Foundation, after which he edited the best-selling book, Nonprofit Management 101(Wiley & Sons). More recently, he authored the best-selling Nonprofit Fundraising 101, the first truly comprehensive yet practical guide to all aspects of fundraising for your cause, and stepped into the Executive Director role at Numi Foundation, where he oversees their clean water and curriculum development programs. Heyman also co-founded the only global conference series dedicated to social media for social good, Social Media for Nonprofits, as well as Sparrow: Mobile for All. Heyman is an in-demand fundraising consultant and board retreat facilitator, and a frequent keynote speaker at social impact events around the globe.